History “Today”: Tojo Quits As Japan’s Prime Minister

July 18, 2009. Exactly 65 years ago, Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo resigned from his post after suffering one loss after the other in the Second World War.

The Fall of Saipan, an island in the Marianas, was the last straw that forced Tojo to quit his post.

Tojo, a well-respected Japanese military strategist and leader, was at the forefront of the Japanese Imperial Army in one of their biggest victories in World War II—the bombing of the Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, that dragged the United States into the War.

His popularity skyrocketed during the early years of the war due after the Japanese forces went from one military victory after the other.

Prior to his resignation as Prime Minister, Tojo also served as Japan’s Army Minister, Home Minister (1941-1942), Foreign Minister in September 1942, Education Minister and Commerce in 1943.